Clyde Tunnel : Design, Construction and Tunnel Services. (Includes Plates.)

Tunnelling

“…While the pumping has usually been confined to the immediate vicinity of the tunnel, the particular geology may favour the use of more extensive pumping from a permeable bed of ground beneath troublesome water-bearing silts or fine sands. This expedient was, for example, used for the Clyde Tunnel (Morgan et al 1965) and in a different form constituted Project Moses for the Storebaelt Tunnel (Biggart and Sternath 1996).…”

“…A Parliamentary Bill for the construction of the twin-bore, two-lane Clyde road tunnel had been obtained in 1948 prior to any serious consideration of the problems of construction. Apart from tortuous initial approaches to connect the tunnel to existing roads along each bank of the River Clyde in Glasgow, the curious W profile of the road surface in the tunnel represents a not altogether successful endeavour to contain two lanes of traffic to full height gauge within the inadequate tunnel diameter described in the Parliamentary Bill (Morgan et al 1965).…”

“…Another incident of the Clyde Tunnel involved the driving of the tunnel under compressed air through a gravel esker reaching close to the ground surface (Morgan et al 1965). It was appreciated that the pressure of compressed air could be transmitted to the top of the esker and in consequence lift the ground and cause a 'blow'.…”

“…The Author can instance major projects of his own experience, e.g. the Clyde Tunnel (Morgan et al 1965), Potters Bar Tunnels (Terris and Morgan 1961), Heathrow Cargo Tunnel (Muir Wood and Gibb 1971) and others, including for example the Orange-Fish Tunnel, where a remeasured contract administered by an independent Engineer has provided a project meeting the requirements of the Owner, without dispute and achieved within time and budget. The first of these projects encountered a number of different forms of geological hazard, the problems requiring design of specific tailor-made solutions as each was more specifically defined as the work advanced.…”

“…While compressed air tunnelling has declined in recent years in response to medical concerns, examples of 'blows' continue to occur, where the air finds a path of escape to the surface (Muir Wood 1975b). The Clyde Tunnel (Morgan et al 1965) was constructed in compressed air, the crown of the tunnel passing beneath a timber jetty used over many years as a ferry berth (Figure 8.1). As-built drawings by its nineteenth century contractor indicated the lengths of driven timber piles.…”